Bone marrow, which is found in the long bones and the iliac crest, contains stem cells that differentiate into mature blood cells. Bone marrow may be aspirated from the bones and used as a way to localize stem cells at the site of injury. For example, bone marrow aspirate (“BMA”) can be applied to a biomaterial, such as an allograft patch, a collagen patch, or synthetic materials such as hyaluronic acid (“HA”), calcium phosphate, or polymer, and delivered in vivo at the site of injury to aid in repair or replace damaged tissue.
In prior known techniques for delivering BMA to a surgical site, bone marrow has been harvested from the iliac crest. Thus, an additional surgical site for aspiration of the bone marrow is required beyond the site of the surgical repair. Currently there is no known method for aspirating and applying bone marrow from and to the same site as the surgery using arthroscopic techniques.